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Weight Gain Carries Risks, No Matter Your Weight

It is widely known that being overweight or obese is linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular and other diseases. Now a new study has found that even in young adults of normal weight, increases in body mass index also lead to increased risk.

Researchers studied 12,664 young adults, testing them for 32 gene variants known to be associated with higher B.M.I., and assigning a “gene score” to each depending on how many of the genetic variants they carried. By studying such a large population, they were able to separate genetic tendencies toward weight gain from other variables that may contribute to being overweight, such as diet, physical activity levels and socioeconomic status.

The study, online in PLOS Medicine, also analyzed 1,488 people who had metabolic profiles done after six years and found that increases in B.M.I., even within the normal range, led to extensive adverse metabolic changes, while modest weight loss led to multiple favorable changes.

“Our study in young adults shows that even a modest weight loss tends to improve the metabolic profile,” said the lead author, Peter Würtz, head of molecular epidemiology at the University of Oulu in Finland. “It doesn’t have to be a large change to have a beneficial role. Even with a normal B.M.I. of 24, it’s worth it to try to get it lower.”

A version of this article appears in print on 12/16/2014, on page D6 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Prognosis: Young and Gaining Weight.